Only wish
by TechNomaNcer28
Summary: One shot ZackAerith. When all of it was over,he'd see her,he'd let her know...if only he could've made it.Aerith contemplates about him in the garden.Mainly centers around the last part of Crisis core.R&R please!


**Yay! My first FF fic, I've become a great fan of Aerith and Zack. CC totally made me cry,really Zack was probably the best FF guy I've ever seen. He just had to die huh?**

Only Wish

She knelt in front of the flower bed praying, hoping everything was alright. Aeris didn't know where Zack was today or just about how he was doing but the moment she had written her letter a few days back saying it would be her 89th and last letter, something deep within her had gone restless and she had been pacing the church area ever since. Waiting for something to reassure her of…she didn't know what she wanted except that Zack be alright. He had been a 1st class SOLDIER for so long and she had never had any doubts about his skills but right now she felt her chest tightening every now and then thinking about him.

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Zack stood with his Buster sword tight in his hand despite the tiredness and blood running from his nose, hands and his chest. He was really a sight to pity yet it was the vision of a brave warrior who wouldn't back away at the worst turning points of life. Freedom was pricey; he was alone fighting for it. Fighting to save himself and Cloud from the daunting experiments that damned Hojo had been performing. He didn't want to be one of those people who Genesis had termed 'monsters'. It was a given, alright. He would fight till the end.

"Die you bastards!" he screamed and ran with all the force he had to spare knowing full well it was useless. The army was advancing upon him with no fear and the damned red-head and his hairless comrade had arrived with that helicopter of theirs. No time, no time.

He struck down one soldier, and another and yet again another. How long, just how much of this could he take? Even being 1st class. What would Angeal have said before? Oh yeah, "you'll never make it to first this way". He took a deep breath with difficulty once again even though the rest of them had turned their guns on him mercilessly but all he could think was to fight with spirit of the SOLDIER he was. If he didn't keep this up then how was he supposed to be classified as a 1st class SOLDIER? A hero? Deadly glint of his sword and sinister red was all his vision could take, he was losing focus rapidly. The world was fading away as he finally fell. The once valiant Soldier Zachary Fair wasn't giving up; he had merely become a martyr.

_Cloud…Aerith…Angeal….Aerith….Aerith._

He saw through the hazy rain, a blonde limping towards him. Cloud, what a friend he had been, what a great great backwater buddy. Cloud fell to the ground and managed to crawl to Zack. Reno and Rude had come out to take Zack's body in but Cloud in his anger tried running his own sword through them both and Zack couldn't help but smile although that took considerable effort. The two Turks decided to stay somewhat far for the time being.

"Zack" Cloud's whisper reached his ears and he turned to look at his best friend, "You'll be alright, we're close to Midgar." Indeed he could see it from their crrent spot.

"No." he replied back in a hoarse voice, "Cloud. Go on ahead to Midgar." Cloud attempted to carry his best friend despite his protests. Tears blinded Cloud's sky blue eyes when Zack held out his Buster sword out.

"My pride, I give it to you." He told Cloud, "Never let go of your dreams Cloud. You'll make a great SOLDIER."

"No, no!" Cloud whispered again as tears splashed openly now mingling with the rain that washed down the bloodied ground.

"Aerith" Zack let out, "Tell her, hello and-" an excruciating pain pierced him as he felt his time coming to an end, "-One day show her a blue, a very blue sky." He looked at Cloud, "I can count on you to do that right?" It was merely a whisper but Cloud nodded.

Everything was silent as Cloud held Zack's sword in his hands. He was gone and wouldn't come back…He took a second to try and gather himself but failed. He cried, there was no other way, he cried just like a boy who had lost something important. Zack had talked so much about Aerith, where she lived, what she loved to do, her garden and on and on. That's where Zack deserved to be buried, a place where his loved ones could watch over after his death, not on the battlefield. But their world wouldn't let that happen. Zack would be gone from the face of this world he had lived in in the coming few minutes. There would be nothing left to bury.

He heard someone's footsteps approaching fast, as if running and held on to Zack tighter. He wouldn't let those Turks get hold of him. Those Turks who belonged to Shinra….damn Shinra. Had he or the company not existed, Hojo would never have done this to their perfectly normal life.

"Zack." He heard a whisper and looked up to see a girl with red hair looking at Zack's body with a look as if she would cry. From her attire, he guessed her to be the female Turk Zack had been friends with. Cissnei.

"He's not-he's-" she couldn't complete her sentence as she hung her head, "We couldn't make it huh?" was all she said and walked away. Reno reached a hand out but Rude pushed it away and the redhead stood where he had been.

"Aerith was waiting." Cloud heard another Turk say and saw a man with a dark pony tail, "She still is. Will you let her know?" he asked Cloud. The blonde was surprised. He hadn't expected that sort of behavior. In the end, they were humans too he realized and stood up.

"yeah." his reply came out low and hoarse. He took hold of Zack's body and Tseng opened his mouth to ask when Cloud answered.

"I'll take him however much he can go, as close as he can make it to Aerith." Tseng nodded and the Turks decided to go back to the Shinra building. Cloud saw the girl Cissnei look back at them saying something. It was inaudible from where he was. He wondered what she said while looking at Zack with that sad smile….

"You never got to know my real name Zack. I wanted you to…." She turned away, never to look back again, never to see him again.

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Aerith held the bouquet she had just made and remembered the first days when these flowers had been planted. Zack had helped her in the time of despair when her sister Marlene had been in the hospital and she had been out of money to support them both and her medication. Flowers had always been an object of passion to her and Zack had really used his head and made her sell them. It hadn't only been economically supportive but a reason for becoming Zack's best friend and…maybe much more. She got to spend more time at least. Despite being with the SOLDIER for years he had actually known just the right things to do, technical things in gardening which had helped her out and the two had spent days together, unforgettable memories. Sometimes she had almost felt some sort of spark between them but they were content keeping things subtle, it had still been kind of early.

_Zack_….

The door of the church opened and someone came in, covered in blood. Aerith ran up to the peasant who seemed to be carrying another injured person. The blond man set his companion down and fell on his knees. He looked really worn out but Aerith could finally see…

"Zack?" she whispered not believing her eyes as she sank to her knees. Maybe this was a nightmare.

"Aerith?" Cloud looked up at her and she nodded. This must be Cloud, that friend Zack had talked about.

"He's-" the blond man looked up holding Zack's sword, "He told me about you. Before he died-" his voice almost cracked under the emotional strain but he composed himself, "-he asked me…nothing". He realized there was no point in that talk anymore. Not right now at least. He wanted to see you. I-" how could he say it all? That he had come to bury his best friend here in front of her, in her garden. "I wanted to have Zack close to you, he did. He always talked about you." He looked away and then continued, "He missed you." He stood up and Aerith stared at Zack. She looked and looked. What was there to do? He would never open those beautiful eyes of his again, he wouldn't tell her to take a closer look at his eyes, he wouldn't make deals with her for the smallest things so they could go on a date, he wouldn't…. She picked up a few more flowers and arranged them.

"Here." She told Cloud and gave him the flowers. As Cloud was placing the flowers he saw a light, the light from the Lifestream. Aerith looked at it too. They both knew he was going away. Far far away. The Lifestream was taking him back

He had lost all sort of feeling by now. Then what was this warmth? This nice feeling? That light?

"Come on Zack." It said. A kind voice said, it was so melodious, so very beautiful. What was this? Where was he? He looked around and saw those precious people. Aerith was…beautiful even now. But somehow he was losing any kind of connection with them. He looked up as a hand gently pulled his own gloved one.

"Zack. It's alright." Again. He was sure everything would be okay, there was nothing to worry abou-Angeal? Was that Angeal looking down at him? Was that where he was going? Zack smiled to his heart's content. There was a happy feeling, as if he couldn't contain this happiness. He reached out his hand and the Lifestream gently swirled around him. Everything would be alright.

The bouquet Aerith had held in her hands earlier was still sitting fresh in her clamped hands. She knelt down with a sad smile this time and placed them over Zack's chest. She wondered if he had ever read that note about her 23 'tiny wishes'. He never got to know just how much she cared.

"Thank you for everything. Zack."

**Whew, I made a lot of changes later and yes,I assumed Marlene to be Aerith's sister. It was something I just thought of adding. I hope you guys like it! Please tell me what could improve this story! I'll appreciate it very much!**


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